Movin' up?

Published 7:00 pm, Monday, August 22, 2011

As the signs point to Texas A&M departing the Big 12, University of Houston supporters are hoping the vacancy can be filled by their Cougars. Ironically, so do some Aggies, reasoning that the admission of another Texas public university would help them fade the legislative heat certain to be generated by a defection to the Southeast Conference.

The dissolution of the storied Southwest Conference in the mid-'90s shattered developing conference rivalries between UH and the four Texas schools that headed over to the Big 12 - University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M, Baylor and Texas Tech. UH accepted a bid to the newly formed Conference USA, and became a fully competing member in 1996.

While C-USA's Texas members include Rice, Southern Methodist and the University of Texas at El Paso, others such as East Carolina, Marshall and the University of Southern Mississippi share no regional and little common athletic history with UH and are hardly the stuff of which great intercollegiate rivalries are built. Also, C-USA is not a designated Bowl Championship Series conference, making the prospects of a shot at the national collegiate football title unlikely. Since the BCS arrangement was formed in 1998, no team outside the six aligned conferences has played in a championship game. Because of their school's position as a current member of C-USA, UH officials are circumspect in discussing conference change. UH Chancellor and President Renu Khator will only reaffirm the University of Houston's commitment "to become and remain a Tier 1 university, academically and athletically."

CBS Sports commentator and UH graduate Jim Nantz says a Big 12 affiliation would allow the school to spotlight its tremendous growth and accomplishments. "Right now Houston is ready to be in that conference with many schools that it has shared conference status with before," says Nantz, who calls the Big 12 "a natural fit for us."

With fundraising halfway to the goal of building a new stadium on campus, UH is primed for a return to the college football spotlight. If the anticipated opening occurs, Big 12 officials should do themselves a favor and offer the Cougars a new den.